Intoxication of the liver

The liver performs a large number of functions in the body. One of them is protective. The digestive gland acts as a filter. She passes through her blood, cleaning her from toxins. But what happens to poisons in the body?

Toxins of blood, lingering in the liver, amaze her. Some iron substances neutralize, but with a large dose and strong or regular effects - liver cells die. The harmful effects can be exerted by toxins from various groups. Symptoms of intoxication are very similar. Then how to distinguish between the liver and liver? And, most importantly, how to help a person in this situation?

Causes of liver intoxication

Intoxication of the liver can occur accidentally, during a professional activity or intentionally. Hepatotoxic substances are also called hepatic poisons. How do they get into the human body? The main way is food. There is also a variant of ingestion of poisons through the respiratory system. In this case, they are absorbed into the blood from the lungs. Almost all hepatic poisons cause the death of hepatocytes (liver cells). There are two mechanisms of action of toxins on the liver.

Direct effects on hepatocytes and their death.

Violation of blood circulation in the liver vessels, resulting in cells do not get oxygen, nutrition and die.

What can cause liver poisoning? There are the following hepatic poisons:

medications;

industrial substances;

alcohol;

vegetable poisons.

They cause various pathological processes in the liver, but differ in a similar clinical picture.

Drug intoxication of the liver

Medicines, if they are taken in a dose by a certain doctor, have a slight toxic effect. But if the dosage has been greatly exceeded, toxic hepatitis develops.

The intoxication of the liver with medicines may occur because of the admission:

The insidiousness of these poisons is that they can cause both acute poisoning due to taking a large dose of the drug, and hidden as a result of the cumulative effect. A person learns about this already at the stage of fatty degeneration, cirrhosis or massive liver necrosis.

Medicines have different mechanisms of liver damage. Some cause necrosis (death) of hepatocytes, others affect the bile ducts, blocking them, the third - on the vessels, disrupting the trophic (nutrition) of the organ.

Alcohol intoxication of the liver

Toxic alcohol poisoning of the liver occurs with excessive consumption of alcohol-containing beverages. It is chronic. That is, a long time is formed. There is also acute massive necrosis of the liver, but it is rare, when consuming very large doses of alcohol at the same time.

Alcohol itself can cause liver poisoning in a dose exceeding 20-30 grams per day. But modern alcoholic products in addition to ethanol and water contain a lot of impurities, which are more dangerous than alcohol itself. It is low-quality alcohol is a frequent cause of liver damage.

Initially, alcohol intoxication is still reversible, and with the cessation of abuse, the function of the liver will gradually recover almost completely. But if people continue to abuse alcohol, then in the body there are irreversible changes.

The fact is that all the alcohol that has entered the blood passes through the liver, where it is converted by the action of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase to acetaldehyde. Acetaldehyde has a much greater toxicity than ethanol itself. It not only kills hepatocytes, but also disrupts fat metabolism, causing accumulation of fat in healthy cells. There is fatty degeneration of the liver, and it can not normally perform its functions.

People working in production often encounter substances that have a toxic effect on the liver.

arsenic

Industrial hepatotropic poisons include:

arsenic and its compounds (metallurgy);

phosphorus (metallurgical industry, production and use of agricultural fertilizers);

pesticides, insecticides (agriculture);

oil refining products;

aldehydes (chemical, medical industry);

phenols (production and use of antiseptics).

Perhaps both acute and chronic liver damage. Chronic intoxication when exposed to small doses happens more often.

Vegetable poisons are represented by alkaloids of the following plants and fungi:

heliotrope;

the cross;

gorchak pink;

death cap.

Plant toxins, affecting the digestive gland, cause acute damage.

Symptoms of liver intoxication

The clinical picture of liver intoxication depends on the nature of the poisoning course. There is acute, chronic course and massive necrosis of hepatocytes.

pain in the liver

How does liver intoxication manifest?

With chronic poisoning, there may be a lack or minor signs. Liver insufficiency progresses slowly, turning into cirrhosis, and after a few months jaundice, hemorrhages, vascular sprouts, signs of brain damage (impaired memory, attention, decreased mental capacity), ascites (fluid in the abdominal cavity), "jellyfish head" ( expansion of the subcutaneous veins around the navel).

Acute intoxication begins to manifest after 2-3 days. There are cases when it is asymptomatic. It depends on the type of poison and the severity of the poisoning.

when palpating the liver, it is felt enlarged, dense, tense and painful.

There is a kind of acute hepatic poisoning - acute massive necrosis of hepatocytes. It is characterized by lightning current, severe symptoms, rapid lethal outcome. Encephalopathy is more pronounced in this pathology, cerebral edema, hypoglycemia, a sharp decrease in blood pressure can develop. Acute massive necrosis of hepatocytes can lead to death within a few days.

Treatment of toxic liver damage

In case of acute hepatic poisoning it is necessary to urgently seek medical help and be treated exclusively in a hospital. The patient is shown bed rest, special food, detoxification of the liver, use of antidotes, medicines that protect the liver and accelerate regeneration, cholagogue preparations, vitamin therapy.

How to remove liver intoxication at home before an ambulance?

Lie and create peace for the body.

Rinse the stomach with saline or water.

Drink activated charcoal.

If available, you can take "Essentiale", "Phosphogliv" or other hepatoprotectors.

Diet with liver intoxication should be observed from the very beginning of the disease and for several months. It is forbidden to drink alcohol, smoke, it is necessary to eat often and in a fractional manner. It is necessary to exclude from the diet:

fatty foods;

fried food;

spicy, salty, smoked, spicy food;

sauces, mayonnaise, canned goods, ketchup.

The following foods should be present daily in the diet:

low-fat meat (rabbit, chicken, turkey);

a fish;

beans;

nuts, dried fruits;

fruits vegetables;

cream and vegetable oils;

milk products.

When working in conditions associated with the risk of chronic liver intoxication, the diet should be observed constantly, and dairy products should be consumed daily.

What to do at home if the liver is sore

Cleansing the liver at home with folk remedies is possible, but you can do it only in the absence of allergy to the components.

For the treatment of liver intoxication at home,

oats (liquid milk porridge from oats - half a glass is used 5 times a day);

infusion of leaves and berries of sea buckthorn (you can drink without restrictions);

sea ​​buckthorn oil (½ tablespoon 3 times a day);

tea from the fruits of hawthorn (1 tablespoon per cup of boiling water, but one should be careful of those who have low blood pressure);

juice of fresh raw potatoes.

Detoxification of the liver at home can be carried out using the following products: broccoli and all kinds of cabbage, onions, garlic. In the diet, you need to add glutathione and thistle extract, which have good neutralizing properties.

What should I do at home if my liver hurts? Self-medication is excluded, because the wrong medicine can aggravate the situation.

Pain can be alleviated with folk remedies with the help of:

horseradish juice;

mixture of horseradish with milk (4 tablespoons grated horseradish mixed with a glass of milk and bring to 90 ° C, consumed within a day);

mint infusion;

infusion of wormwood, sage, juniper (4 tablespoons collection insist in a liter of boiling water, drink a glass 3 times a day);

eat 2 egg yolks, followed by a glass of warm mineral water and lie down for 2 hours under the blanket, putting a warm water bottle under your right side.

Folk remedies are a good helper for chronic intoxication or for acute poisoning of moderate or mild severity. In severe toxic lesions, immediate hospitalization is strongly recommended.

The liver takes the main blow in the fight against poisons that enter our body. And, although everyone knows that it regenerates and it restores its functionality even with great damage, poisoning can still lead to serious consequences. Symptoms of toxic damage to the main digestive gland are similar for various poisoning factors. Pain in the right upper quadrant, jaundice, nausea, vomiting, fever, hemorrhages - these are the signs of acute hepatitis due to toxins.

Treatment of intoxication is a long process. It should be comprehensive and under the supervision of a doctor. You can use both traditional and folk methods.